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2008
10 articles from 2009
Free Flick of the Day: Vexille
1 December 2009 1:32 PM, PST
| Cinematical
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How about a little feature-length anime to brighten the first day of December? Brand-new on SlashControl is Fumihiko Sori's eye-dazzling Vexille, which is a sci-fi action tale that's way too complicated to cover here. Suffice to say it's got lots of cool ideas, epic moments, awesome action sequences, and a rather excellent Paul Oakenfold score.
As a matter of fact, I actually reviewed this film from the Toronto Film Festival way back in 2007. Here's a piece from that review:
"On a technical scale, Vexille (aka Bekushiru: 2077 Nippon Sakoku) is an undeniable treat for the eyes. Combining 2-D and 3-D animation (as in his earlier Appleseed), Sori eschews belabored backstories and mystical blather in favor of a straightforward sci-fi action-fest. Plus the two main heroes are women, which I found to be a nice switch. (And again, the stuff in between the action is actually interesting!) Fans of the manga
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- Scott Weinberg
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Halo Movie is Coming; It Will Just Be Animated
5 November 2009 9:06 AM, PST
| FilmSchoolRejects.com
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Exactly what you've all been waiting for... Sort of. Warner Home Video has announced today that they will release Halo: Legends, a series of seven animated short films. It will hit DVD and Blu-ray on February 9, 2010.
For your amusement, please see the official press release below:
Go deeper into the Halo universe than ever before with Halo Legends, an all-new, CG and traditional anime PG-13 experience that presents enthralling new stories from one of the world’s most popular video game franchises. Produced by 343 Industries, a part of Microsoft Game Studios, the exciting tales-beyond-the-games will be distributed February 9, 2010 by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray for $29.98 (Srp) and $34.99 (Srp), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (Srp) due date for all versions is January 5, 2010. The chapters will also be available On Demand and Digital Download.
Halo Legends is a seven-story anthology – told across eight spectacular episodes – that explores the
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- Neil Miller
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Dangerous Days: CGI Anime Spotlight
13 August 2009 6:17 AM, PDT
| AirlockAlpha.com
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First off, I should say that I really liked Shinji Aramaki's first "Appleseed" movie.
I've always had a soft spot for the franchise, ever since seeing the 80s Ova adaptation years ago. "Appleseed" pretty much has everything you could ask for in a sci-fi actioner - badass chicks, mechs, lots of high-speed action, explosions, cyborgs, attempted human genocide. It shows that CGI anime is can be so much more than a gimmick. It set the bar pretty high, as far as I'm concerned. Its sequel "Appleseed Ex Machina," however... not so much. And I really wanted to like this one too.
The main problem with "Ex Machina" is that it's all John Woo'd out like a motherfucker. We're talking duel weilding pistol, bullet-time, slow motion dove shots and all - John Woo'd out. And it just doesn't work.
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The Hanimatrix? Microsoft unveil Halo: Legends (Update: Oshii on board! Trailer!)
24 July 2009 2:34 PM, PDT
| Twitch
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An unexpected attraction at Comic-Con – Microsoft are apparently set to unveil a new project fleshing out the backstory of their hugely successful Halo franchise… seven short films by acclaimed anime directors. An article from the La Times looks at two studios who want to exercise increased control over ancilliary spinoffs from their successful IPs – as opposed to letting movie studios take the brand name and run. (Ubisoft are also premiering three short films expanding on the backstory to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed 2). The five studios contributing to Halo: Legends are Bones, Casio Entertainment, Production I.G., Studio 4C, and Toei Animation, with previews on Microsoft’s Xbox Live service this autumn and a DVD/BluRay release in 2010. Personally? The only downside from my point of view is placing Shinji Aramaki in charge – a fan he may be, but after the creatively bankrupt Appleseed I hope he remains relatively hands-off.
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- Eight Rooks
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Halo Legends Anime Trailer
24 July 2009 9:13 AM, PDT
| FilmJunk
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While the jury is still out on whether or not we'll ever see a live action Halo feature film, it looks like the popular video game will be making is about to make the transition to yet another medium: 2-D animation. In the vein of The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, Microsoft and Bungie have announced Halo Legends, a series of short anime films to be available via Xbox Live sometime in 2010 (and also, eventually, DVD and Blu-ray).
Studios involved in the project include Production I.G., Studio 4C, Bones, Casio Entertainment, and Toei Animation, while the creative director of the whole thing is Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed, Appleseed Ex Machina). For more info on the project, check out an article over at the L.A. Times [1] where they also reveal that Ubisoft is working on some live-action films based on Assassin's Creed. The first teaser trailer for Halo Legends is embedded after the jump.
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- Sean
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Halo Goes Anime
23 July 2009 11:20 PM, PDT
| CinemaSpy
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The Halo movie may be cancelled on hold, but Microsoft's storied video-game franchise is transcending the interactive medium again in the form of a series of anime short films.
The epic science fiction world of Halo has already been explored in the novel form and with four video games — a fifth game, Halo 3: Odst releases this fall — but as part of events at San Diego Comic-Con, Microsoft announced the Halo Legends project, a collaboration with the likes of noted anime directors Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell).
Frank O'Connor is development director for the franchise and creative director for 343 Industries, a new division of Microsoft Game Studios that is responsible for overseeing the Halo property.
“The opportunity to work with talents such as Shinji Aramaki, Mamoru Oshii and others from some of the greatest anime studios is a very rare opportunity for Microsoft,” O'Connor said in a release from Microsoft.
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'Halo' Anime, 'Halo Legends' Premieres At Comic-Con
23 July 2009 10:03 AM, PDT
| MTV Multiplayer
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"Halo" has expanded well beyond its original video game roots. Books, soundtracks and potential feature films have turned Microsoft's shooter into a media juggernaut. The next "Halo" onslaught will be "Halo Legends," a series of seven short, animated films which utilize the Japanese anime aesthetic.
Extremely well-known anime production houses are attached to "Halo Legends," including Toei Animation, Studio4[Degrees]C and Bones. The creative director in charge of the project is Shinji Aramaki, who directed "Appleseed" and its follow-up, "Appleseed Ex Machina."
In a lot of ways, "Halo Legends" will follow the same short-form style as the excellent "Animatrix" collection, which tapped well-known anime directors to create shorts on "The Matrix" universe.
For more info on "Halo Legends," check out this La Times piece, which goes in-depth on the project.
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- Russ Frushtick
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Fumihiko Sori's next to be adapation of 2001 Nights (2001 Ya Monotogari)
9 July 2009 10:44 AM, PDT
| QuietEarth.us
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Sweet news from our pals at the affenheimtheater this morning! It seems that Fumihiko Sori, director of Vexille, Ichi and the groundbreaking Appleseed, will be making an adaptation of the popular sci-fi manga "2001 Nights" (2001 Ya Monotogari). Called simply To, the project has even launched an official website here.
The manga by Yukinobu Hoshino was published between 1984 to 1986 and tells several short stories about mankind’s adventures in space. Personally, I'd like to see a more traditional animation approach from the usually CGI happy Sori, but whatever, this project will no doubt be truly epic in scope regardless.
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Fumihiko Sori to re-animate Sci-Fi Manga 2001 Nights
9 July 2009 9:37 AM, PDT
| Affenheimtheater
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Ann has posted first details on the new project from Fumihiko Sori, director of Ping Pong, Vexille and Ichi, and director of Appleseed. According to the news, Sori will direct To, an adaptation of the sci-fi manga 2001 Nights (2001 Ya Monotogari) from Yukinobu Hoshino. The manga was published between 1984 to 1986 and tells several short stories about mankind’s adventures in space. It was already adapted in 1987 as the 60-minutes Ova Space Fantasia 2001 Nights.
It’s yet unknown if Sori will use traditional animation or rather power-up the rendering super machines like he did for Vexille and Appleseed. Avex has opened the official website for the To project yesterday but until now it only shows the teaser artwork below.
[via Ann & Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow]
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- Ulrik
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Masamune Shirow joins the Squad
18 March 2009 11:57 AM, PDT
| Affenheimtheater
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During this year’s Tokyo International Anime Fair, the recently founded production studio Lucent Pictures Entertainment has announced it’s new anime project called Squad. The most interesting fact about this is the name Masamune Shirow that’s getting mentioned under the tagline “A battle for the front mission — I’ll cover your back.”. Masamune Shirow is the creator of classics like Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed.
Except for the teaser artwork to the left that looks more like a video game scene than a scene from an anime, no details have been revealed.
[via Ann]
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- Ulrik
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2009 |
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10 articles from 2009
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